Cinematography Guide — “Sir Reginald’s Q3 Objectives”

Author: iota-techlead | Step: 2 (The Look)

This guide defines the camera language and visual grammar for the film. iota-idea should reference this when writing camera directions in the scene list.

Camera Language That Works Well with Veo 3.1

Recommended Shot Types (High Confidence)

Shot Type	When to Use	Prompt Language
Wide / Establishing	Scene openers, showing Reginald in the office context	”wide shot, full room visible, character centered in frame”
Medium Shot	Dialogue, character interaction (2-person scenes)	“medium shot, waist-up framing, two characters facing each other”
Medium Close-Up	Reactions, comedy beats, facial expressions	”medium close-up, chest and face visible, expressive”
Over-the-Shoulder	Dialogue between Reginald and supporting cast	”over-the-shoulder shot, shallow depth of field”
Low Angle	Making Reginald look heroic/imposing (comedy contrast)	“low angle shot looking up, dramatic but comedic”
Static / Locked-Off	Deadpan comedy moments	”static camera, locked-off, no camera movement”

Shot Types to Avoid (Unreliable)

Shot Type	Why	Alternative
Whip pan / fast movement	Artifacts, motion blur issues	Cut between static shots instead
Extreme close-up (eyes only)	Hard to maintain character consistency	Use medium close-up
Complex tracking through rooms	Camera path gets confused	Static wide shot or simple push-in
POV shots	Model struggles with first-person perspective	Over-the-shoulder instead

Camera Movement Vocabulary

These motion prompts produce reliable results with Veo 3.1:

“slow push-in” — gentle zoom toward subject, great for dramatic reveals
“slow pull-back” — reveals context, good for showing Reginald’s absurd situation
“static camera, no movement” — deadpan comedy, let the action speak
“slow pan left/right” — reveals environment, good for office establishing shots
“slight dolly right/left” — subtle lateral movement, adds life without chaos
“tilt up from feet to face” — hero reveal, works great for Reginald’s armor

The Comedy Frame

Per the design brief, the camera should treat Reginald’s insane actions with documentary-like neutrality. This means:

Wide framing — show the full absurdity of a knight in an office. Don’t zoom in too tight.
Static holds — let beats land. A locked-off shot of Reginald staring at the Keurig is funnier than a dynamic tracking shot.
Reaction shots — cut to Sarah/Craig/Gary’s deadpan reactions. Medium close-up, static.
Contrast cuts — cut from a “heroic” low-angle of Reginald to a wide shot showing he’s just standing on an office chair.

Lighting Notes for Prompts

Every prompt must include lighting direction to fight genre drift:

Office scenes: “bright fluorescent overhead lighting, flat and even, no dramatic shadows, sterile corporate”
Reginald’s heroic moments: “bright warm lighting with a subtle comedic god-ray, exaggerated dramatic but still bright and warm”
NEVER use: “moody,” “shadowy,” “dim,” “atmospheric haze,” “rain,” “noir,” “gritty,” “dark”

Duration Planning (Overhang Principle)

Veo 3.1 generates 4s, 6s, or 8s clips. With the mandatory +4s overhang (2s pre-roll + 2s post-roll):

Planned Duration	Generate As	Method
2-4s	8s clip	Trim in post
5-8s	8s clip	Trim in post
9-12s	8s + 1 extend (7s) = 15s	Trim to target
13-18s	8s + 2 extends (14s) = 22s	Trim to target

Recommendation to iota-idea: Keep individual shots to 4-8s planned duration whenever possible. This avoids extends and reduces generation time + consistency risk. A 3-minute film at ~6s average per shot = ~30 shots, which is very manageable.

Reference Image Budget Per Shot

Veo supports max 3 reference images per shot (using veo-3.1-fast-generate-preview):

Slot	Content
1	Reginald’s composite character sheet (always)
2	Supporting character’s composite sheet (if present)
3	Setting reference image

This means: max 2 characters per shot (as per playbook), and we always have room for the setting reference.

Master Settings Needed

I’ll need to generate reference images for each distinct setting. Based on the story, these are:

Supply Closet — small, shelved, cluttered with office supplies
Office Corridor — fluorescent-lit hallway with glass partitions
Craig’s Office — corner office, ergonomic chair, glass desk
Main Office Floor — cubicle farm, open plan
Breakroom — Keurig machine, counter, fridge with labeled items
Conference Room — long table, speakerphone, whiteboard
Elevator — mirrored walls, floor buttons
Accounting Floor (3rd) — cubicle layout, filing cabinets (siege battlefield)

iota-idea: please confirm or adjust this settings list in the scene_list.md.